JOY BUSINESS VAN: Green Essentials - promising startup in Ghanaian cosmetics industry

What used to be her kitchen when she was in the business of catering is now the production center for her cosmetics products.

Meet Yaa Anima Misa Gyampoh, owner of Green Essentials - a company that is into the production of soaps, body creams and lotions.

“This is where I produce everything,” she quipped as she ushered Joy Business' Daryl Kwawu to what is now Green Essentials - a green wooden structure next to her home.

The catering business she was operating had slowed down and this got her frustrated. It was in the turbulence that Yaa discovered a locally manufactured shower gel produced from black soap or what is referred to in Ghana as “alata simena.”

Her interest was stirred by the nature of the soap and this saw her signing up for a course in soap-making backed by several hours of research on YouTube.

Narrating the incident to Joy Business Van host, Yaa says she made several mistakes when she was learning the soap making.

Yaa with Joy Business' Daryl Kwawu
She, however, said gleefully that "Eventually I got there and with the help of Youtube I was able to mix different ingredients."

Yaa explained she began using "my own formulas and putting in different oils that people would normally not do." She walked Joy Business' Daryl as she mixed her concoctions.

She later fashioned out her own soap with shea butter, coconut, and peppermint oils. She christened it “The Breeze.”

Desirous of public feedback, Yaa gave her soaps to friends to try and this led to outpouring requests for more. Buoyed by instinct and feedback, Yaa concluded she would make soaps and sell them.

She was later to make souvenirs and hampers for people.

Yaa's products are finely packaged that people find it unbelievable when they are told they are made in Ghana.

A closer look at Yaa's creation
“People are very impressed especially with the lotion because we rarely have locally produced lotions,” Yaa remarked basking in the glory associated with her creation.

She hopes to move from the kitchen space to another space which would afford her the opportunity to produce in mass quantities. For her, this is definitely a career for life.

“I wake up early in the morning and all I want to do is cut my soaps, make sure the kids are asleep so that I can make my soap, mix my lotions, try different concoctions,” a fulfilled Yaa told Daryl Kwawu.

She sees a business empire in the future anytime she sees Green Essentials.

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